The Return of the DragonZord
Lord Crucible stood on the bridge of his flagship gazing at the stars and the planet Earth that lay in his view. But he wasn't thinking of the planet that he had acquired, rather his attention was focused on one person--Jeffrey Kincaid. 'I thought I had killed him along with the others.' thought Crucible. 'Of course he probably thought the same of me.' General Savrod came onto the bridge jarring Crucible out of his contemplations. "We have begun the assignment of the captured rangers to the camps my lord." "Excellent Savrod.", said Crucible. "Continue keeping me updated on their--progress". Crucible said that last word with a sick sense of glee. "Any word from the fighter squadrons?", Crucible later asked. "They followed the Zord into the storms of Jupiter. Neither the Zord nor the ships came back out. The red ranger is dead." Crucible then closed his eyes and opened his mind to the universe. He mentally turned his focus to Jupiter as he tried to pick up the patterns of the guardsmen and Kincaid. When his mind came to the planet he focused on trying to find a presence. He had found it. He also found out that it had escaped and was still out there in the universe. "Kincaid is not dead Savrod.", said Crucible. "Prepare to double patrols and deploy the fleet. Search everywhere that you can." "But my lord if we double patrols we leave our own defenses thin. You will be at risk until we build up our personal defenses again." "Kincaid found a way through defences before.", said Crucible. I will not wait for him to come to me. I will go to him." "Sir may I at least urge you to move the flagship to a different location?", said Savrod. Savrod was the only one who was allowed to stand up to Crucible and get away with it. Everybody else had to have a good reason if they stood up to Crucible. Crucible considered the action and agreed. "Yes, Savrod. Set course for the Maxima system. Leave two cruisers behind to safeguard Earth." Before long all but two ships left Earth space. And as the flagship was leaving Crucible turned his gaze back to the stars asking a question. "Where are you Jeffrey Kincaid?" ------------------------------------------------------- At the ruins of the Command Center four teens and one pre-teen were busy loading equipment from the old building and loading it onto Defiance which was still cloaked. There was a lot of supplies and equipment in the center and it took up a lot of space in Defiance's hold. So much they had to use anti-grav units to stack it all the way up to the ceiling. Justin even morphed into his Turbo blue ranger uniform so he could work better. Kincaid was going over all the stuff the command center had in his mind. He couldn't believe Zordon didn't throw any of this stuff out. "Hardrive, how long will the loading process take from now to completion?", Kincaid asked. Hardrive waited before he gave his answer--"Felgercarb, Apollo it'll take yarhns." "What the hell did he just say?", asked Mackenzie as she was coming up to Kincaid. "He's quoting Lt. Starbuck from Battlestar Galactica.", said Kincaid. "He's saying we still have a ways to go." Cassandra decided to take the opportunity to try for some small talk, and maybe get some answers about Kincaid. "Can I ask you something?", she asked. "Depends", said Kincaid as he was heading out of the hold back towards the command center. "What do you want to know?" Cassandra decided to push carefully with her conversation. She could tell right off the bat that Kincaid was someone who didn't volunteer information easily, and he kept a lot of things to himself. Right now she wanted to get his trust. His secrets would come later. "Where did you come up with the idea for the Jupiter stunt?", she asked. Kincaid paused for a moment. "Now that I can answer. I saw a Science Fiction show once where a small ship was trying to shake off some sort of monster vessel that was chasing it. The Captain of the little ship took his ship into Jupiter with the monster vessel in close pursuit. When he was far enough into the atmosphere, he turned his ship around and flew out of Jupiter leaving the monster ship to be crushed by the gravity. I remembered the stunt and decided to try it." "You tried a stunt that you saw on TV?", Cassandra was shocked beyond belief. "You could have been killed!" "Hey, One thing I've learned is that no one lives forever.", said Kincaid. Then he went back to his work. Adam came up to Cassandra to see how she was doing. "I think this guy has got a death wish.", she said. "Well we better make sure he doesn't take us with him.", said Adam as they both went on to their work. Unknown to them Mackenzie overheard their conversation, and she had her own ideas about Kincaid. ------------------------------------------------------- Alpha was in the main Zeo computer room downloading the files onto disk. He knew that Defiance couldn't hold the whole computer so Alpha planned to downloaded the files and set the computer to self-destruct. Kincaid walked in to check on how Alpha was progressing. Adam and Cassandra followed not far behind. "How's it going Alpha?", asked Adam. "The files are almost downloaded", said Alpha. "But there are a few things we still need to get before we can leave." "Alpha, Defiance is almost full to the ceiling. We're running out of space. What more do we need to get?" demanded Kincaid. "Fortunately, a few of the items are right through here.", said Alpha as he made his way through the opening in the Power Chamber. Kincaid, Adam, and Cassandra followed closely behind. When they were on the other side they were in a small room with a red light inside and a case in the center. Alpha went to the case and opened it. Inside the case was what seemed to be power coins. Adam and Cassandra couldn't believe their eyes. Power coins? Where did they come from? "These are the prototypes aren't they?", said Kincaid matter of factly. "These are the coins that came before the ones that were currently destroyed." "Prototypes?", said Adam. "Yes Adam.", said Alpha. "As you recall when Kimberly made her voyage to the 1800's that the coins that she gave your ancestors were not the same coins you had at the time. The morphin powers went into several coins before they settled into the coins you possessed." "The power coins were always an experiment in motion.", said Kincaid. "They required constant modification and upgrading to keep the morphin powers stable so they went into several coins throughout the centuries. When the last coins were destroyed there were no other coins ready to house the powers in. So they settled in the morphers, but there were no coins that could keep the power stable" "How do you know all this?", asked Adam. "Trade secret.", said Kincaid. "Why didn't Zordon put the old morphin powers in one of the old coins?", asked Cassandra. "That was too risky.", said Alpha. "When the powers went into a different coin it was always an improved coin. To put the powers into an inferior coin is too risky because it would not keep the morphs as stable as an improved coin would. Whether we used an old coin or not, the possibility always existed that morphing would always destroy the ranger using the morpher unless it used an improved coin. To use an old coin would only be postponing the inevitable" "It's the same principle as in buying a used car.", said Kincaid. There's always the possibility that more will go wrong with buying a used car than with buying a new car. It's the same with the coins." "Why are we taking them if they're of no use anymore?", asked Adam. "But they are useful.", said Alpha. "If one studies the coins enough, they could make their own power coins to house the ranger powers in. And if that someone was evil..." "I think we understand.", said Cassandra. "All this stuff contains ranger secrets in some form or another. We can't let Crucible get it." "All right Alpha.", said Kincaid. "We've got the prototypes and the computer is almost cleaned out. What more do we need to get? "Two of the items are on their way as we speak.", said Alpha as he exited the room. Kincaid, Adam, and Cassandra followed behind. ------------------------------------------------------- "Sir, our sensors have detected unusual craft in the California sector. Heading North.", said a guardsman at a sensor terminal on the bridge of one of the cruisers watching Earth. "What do you make of them?", said the ship commander Boltax. A figure who wore green armor. "They bear a resemblance to Earth vehicles.", said the guardsman. "One of them is a blue jeep. The other is a red sportscar." Boltax considered the information. There were only two vehicles that matched the given description. "Storm Blaster and Lightning Cruiser.", he said to himself. "Track their course.", he ordered. "Give me an estimate of their destination." The guardsmen at the navigation computer went to work carrying out Boltax's order. A few seconds later they had his answer. "They are on course for the old command center site." Boltax considered this. 'Could the ranger Lord Crucible wants captured be there too?' he thought. 'Capturing him will win me much favor with my lord.' "Ready an assault force.", ordered Boltax. "Prepare to capture the Red Ranger." "Sir", said a silver and red guardsman(one of the command elite). "The sun is preparing to set. Should night fall before we arrive to capture the red ranger..." "Noted.", said Boltax. "So we move to capture him quickly." ------------------------------------------------------- Kincaid was looking through all the stuff Alpha was cleaning out of the command center. Old weapons, previous Alpha's, and other equipment. He continued to look around as he saw his eyes rest on one item, A green dagger. Alpha came up behind him. "Is this the Dragon Dagger?", asked Kincaid. "I thought it was destroyed with the Green Ranger powers." It's the original Dragon Dagger.", said Alpha. "At one time we had to update the design on the Dragon Dagger to deal with one of Rita's monsters. When we gave Tommy the modified Dragon Dagger and transferred the green power into it, we kept the original on hand." "Is this still usable?" asked Kincaid. "Not without a power source to feed on.", said Alpha. "It has as much use as the prototype power coins do now." Kincaid sighed to himself. "A pity he said." He heard a lot about the Dragon Dagger and always hoped to see the DragonZord in action again. Hardrive's next announcement brought Kincaid to full alert. "Attention all personnel, incoming wounded.", said Hardrive doing his impersonation of Radar on M*A*S*H. Kincaid and the rest of the rangers went outside to see what Hardrive was talking about. As they looked up, they saw a red sports car and blue jeep come towards them. "Storm Blaster and Lightning Cruiser.", said Justin as he rushed to greet the two vehicles. They set down, and Justin greeted Lightning Cruiser and went to sit in Storm Blaster pleased to see his old friend. Alpha and Kincaid came up to the two vehicles. "Friends of yours?" Kincaid asked Justin. "These are the Turbo vehicles.", said Justin. "Storm Blaster was mine when I was on the Turbo team. Lightning Cruiser was T.J.'s" Just then Lightning Cruiser blinked on in alarm in his coded language. "Alpha, what is it saying?", asked Kincaid. "Ai,yi, yi, yi, yi, yi! Lightning Cruiser thinks he and Storm Blaster were followed. We have to leave now." "Have we got everything?", asked Adam. "Everything from the command center.", said Alpha. "What do you mean 'everything from the command center?", asked Kincaid. "There's one last thing we have to get.", said Alpha. "It's at the bottom of the ocean outside Angel Grove." "The DragonZord.", said Kincaid as if he knew what was there. And Alpha confirmed what Kincaid knew. "The DragonZord. The last surviving and most powerful of the DinoZords." "Set the destruct sequence and let's go.", ordered Kincaid. The order came too late as a fighter squadron appeared on the horizon. "Ai, yi, yi, a fighter squadron. We have to get to Defiance." "No.", said Kincaid. "They'll be expecting us to run. We'll be cut down before we get off the ground." "What do we do?", asked Justin. "I've got an idea.", said Kincaid. "But it's kind of crazy. Justin tell Storm Blaster and Lightning Cruiser to get aboard Defiance at first opportunity. Then follow us inside the command center." "The command center?", everyone said in alarm. "I told you it was crazy.", said Kincaid. ------------------------------------------------------- The fighter squadron came over the hill to see the old command center come into view. The guardsmen who were flying the ships caught sight of five human life forms head into the building, and an energy shield form around the red and black ship. "Commander Boltax.", said the guardsman squadron leader. "Life forms have entered edifice." "They have not gone to their ship?" Boltax contemplated the action for a second. "They must be hoping to wait us out. All ships set down and enter command center. Hunt them down and bring them aboard." "Should we not just destroy the building with the rangers inside commander?", asked the command guardsman. "The rangers are notorious for getting out of situations such as that.", said Boltax. Something in the command center may facilitate that escape. And besides, Crucible wants bodies. Land and enter." The fighters set down and the guardsmen got out. They entered through the tunnel entrance leaving two to guard the way in. As the two stood guard they noticed a blue jeep and red sports car turn on them and fire some sort of beam at them that sent them sprawling to the ground. Then the jeep and sports car turned back around and boarded Defiance. ------------------------------------------------------- The halls of the command center was filled with guardsmen. There almost wasn't a place around that didn't have a guardsman around it. The squadron commander entered the Zeo Chamber with a platoon behind him. He saw the place was stripped of much of the tech. "Commander Boltax.", said the guardsman "The center is apparently deserted." "How can that be?", said Boltax. "They're hiding!" "Yes sir.", said the guardsman. "But the Main chamber seems to be run by computer. It's the only thing speaking." "Speaking? Let me hear!" The command guardsman brought his communicator to the computer speaker. Boltax heard as the computer was relaying a countdown. "Nine...Eight...Seven...Six...Five" Boltax roared "GET OUT!!!GET OUT OF THERE!!!GET OUT!!!" But it was too late. The countdown hit one and the last thing the guardmen knew was fire coming from everywhere. Fire that took the guardsmen with it. ------------------------------------------------------- Boltax watched from his viewer as the command center blew up taking his guardsmen units with it. But it was not just the destruction of his guardsmen that drove him into a rage. Rather it was the sight of Defiance taking off as the center was exploding. "How could they have escaped? HOW?!", cursed Boltax. "Track their ship. And ready my TankZord." Boltax was looking for revenge. The rangers would pay for making him look like a fool. ------------------------------------------------------- Kincaid was listening to the communications between the guardsman and Boltax before the command center blew up. "Talk about life imitating art.", he said. "What's that supposed to mean?", asked Cassandra. "Star Trek III:The Search for Spock. The exchange between that guardsman and it's boss was almost like the one with that Klingon lieutenant Torg and Christopher Lloyd." "Christopher Lloyd.", said Mackenzie. "He played Commander Kruge in that movie didn't he?" "Ah...eh...ah...that answer was....okeydoke.", said Hardrive doing an impersonation of Reverend Jim on Taxi. Cassandra turned from the controls to where Adam and Justin looked out the window. They saw the command center explode in front of their eyes...much like the crew of the Enterprise had done in that movie as their starship self destructed in the sky above them. Whether it was the Power Chamber, or the Command Center, that mountain...that structure was the place that many power rangers called home. Now that structure was gone. Not even the ruins remained. They couldn't help but feel a sad about what had happened. They almost didn't make it out until they made it to the top of the mountain where the front door was. When they made it outside Defiance was already taking off but it waited long enough for the rangers to jump aboard. It also decloaked so the rangers could see what they were getting into. Then Defiance took to the sky. When the site of the command center was no longer in view Adam, Cassandra and Justin turned away and headed to where Kincaid, Mackenzie, and Alpha were--at the helm console. "Where are we going now?", asked Adam. "There's one last thing we have to retrieve.", said Kincaid. "It's currently at the bottom on Angel Grove harbor." Adam's eyes grew wide with realization. "The DragonZord?" Kincaid nodded in affirmation. ------------------------------------------------------- Aboard one of the ships the guardsman on sensors was keeping track of the vessel that was leaving the area where the command center once stood. "Commander Boltax. We have determined the heading of the ranger ship." "Where is it going?", asked Boltax eager to redeem himself for the humiliation he felt at the rangers hands. "They are apparently heading for Angel Grove harbor. The site of the DragonZord.", said the guardsman. "Is my BattleZord ready?, asked Boltax. "Yes Commander.", said the guardsman in the hangar bay. After hearing this Boltax left the bridge. He was going to redeem himself, or die trying. ------------------------------------------------------- Defiance hovered above Angel Grove harbor to the spot where the DragonZord rested. "Tractor field ready.", said Alpha. "We are ready to bring the DragonZord on board." "Let's do it.", said Kincaid as the tractor fields activated. After a few minutes the sleeping form of the DragonZord was emerging from the bottom of the sea. The next minute had Defiance rocking after being blasted from behind. The attack made Defiance lose it's hold on the DragonZord as it plummeted back towards the sea hitting with a loud splash. Kincaid turned to the sensors and found a green tank shooting at them. "Alpha Damage report!" "The shields are down 13 percent.", said Alpha. "Those blasts also took out our tractor beams, we have no way to retrieve the DragonZord in time." "No there is one way.", said Kincaid. "But it's risky. Hardrive, attack the tank." "Yes master, I am at your beck and call master.", said Hardrive impersonating Igor from the Frankenstein movies. Hardrive brought the guns to bear on the TankZord and Defiance and the TankZord went into a shooting contest. Kincaid then went over to Cassandra and Adam. "I need your help, but what I have in mind is risky." "What is it?", asked Cassandra. "Use your telepathy. I can explain it faster that way. And bring Adam into the link too." Cassandra and Adam held hands as she scanned what Kincaid had in mind. Both Cassandra and Adam could not believe what Kincaid had in mind. "Are you nuts?", said Adam. "That's never been tried." "It's the only option we have for now.", said Kincaid. "It's either that or let Crucible have the DragonZord." "I say boy.", Hardrive was doing his Foghorn Leghorn voice. "Tankboy's upin' the ante here." Kincaid turned to see the green tank transform into a Zord. "Allright.", said Kincaid as he turned back to the controls. "If that's how they want to play it. Hardrive, initiate Zord Transform." Defiance then went into it's transformation mode. The nose of the Zord transformed into feet as the front extended to become the legs. Arms extended out from the sides from where the wings extended as the wings folded back towards the back. Defiance's engines also folded back to reveal the head as the engines folded to where the wings were. Where there was once a ship now stood a giant red and black Zord that could have given Pyramidas a run for it's money. This Zord also was double the size of the green zord that was ready to attack. "Now." said Kincaid as he sat in the Main Zord cockpit. The other rangers sat with him. "Do we have to get messy?" The tank decided to pursue it's attack and blasted away at the transformed CarrierZord. Defiance then brought up one of it's arm cannons and blasted the green tank turning it into a clump of metal. "Whoa," said the other rangers as they saw the power Defiance had. "I prefer to end fights quick.", said Kincaid. "I knew a street fighter who said that if a fight lasts beyond three seconds then you've already lost." "Sounds like someone I want to meet.", said Mackenzie. "We'll see.". Kincaid then turned his attention to Adam. "Now Adam we don't have much time. Will you do it or not?" Adam thought about it for a second. "Why does it have to be me?" Kincaid was to the point. "Your power was one of the Dino powers, and the DragonZord is the last of the DinoZords. Your frequency is the most compatable with it's systems." Alpha heard what Kincaid was saying and couldn't believe it. "Ai, yi, yi, yi, yi!!!Kincaid do you know what you are saying?" "I do Alpha", he said. "But we don't have a choice. The tractor fields are out and we don't have much time. The self repair program is working on repairs but it will take a while. This is the only option we have left." Cassandra came up to Adam and tried to reassure him. "Adam you don't have to do this." Adam thought about it for a second and said. "What all do I need?" Kincaid then took Adam down to the main hold. He went to the case that had the prototype coins in it and took one out. He then grabbed the Dragon Dagger and gave them both to Adam. "You'll need these.", Kincaid said. "The coin to keep the powers stable, and the dagger to summon the DragonZord." Adam nodded and said as he brought out his old morpher "IT'S MORPHIN TIME!!!MASTODON" and Adam transformed into the black dino ranger. It wasn't too long before the morphing fires went through Adam and Kincaid then gave him one of the old Mastodon coins. Adam felt the fires subside. Kincaid then gave Adam the Dragon Dagger and Adam went outside to the cliffs before the sea. The sun was starting to set. He did not notice movement in the wreckage of the tankzord as Boltax was freeing himself. Adam brought the Dragon Dagger to the mouth on his mask and played the song which would activate the DragonZord. Nothing happened. Adam tried to play it again still nothing. "Keep trying.", said Kincaid. "Try it a little more intense. Let the Zord hear you. Adam continued to try, even as Boltax was ready to attack. "Adam look out!", yelled Cassandra ready to go outside, but Kincaid held her back. "Red Night Ranger Activate.", said Kincaid as he transformed and headed off Boltax. "Adam continue playing. I've got you covered." Kincaid and Boltax went into fighting each other while Adam continued to play the Dragon Dagger which he thought wasn't doing a bit of good. He didn't notice a faint glimmer of power emerge from the small symbol on the hilt. ------------------------------------------------------- Kincaid rushed into the fight attacking Boltax right away. Cassandra, Mackenzie, and Justin were watching from Defiance. "Does Kincaid know what he's doing?", asked Justin. "I don't know but I can say one thing. Kincaid's already lost.", said Cassandra. "What's that supposed to mean?", asked Mackenzie. "The fight already went beyond three seconds." Cassandra made a funny. "Ha, Ha, Ho,Ho,", said a cynical Mackenzie. ------------------------------------------------------- Kincaid went into the fight throwing a punch that Boltax blocked. Boltax then moved the arm out of the way to throw a punch of his own which Kincaid dodged. Kincaid then grabbed Boltax's arm and brought it down to his knee. Boltax felt the arm snap and let out a shriek of pain. Boltax then got up to deliver a low blow to Kincaid with his good arm. Boltax then went on the offensive delivering punches in southpaw style. Boltax also delivered a series of kicks that were keeping Kincaid off balance. Then Boltax fired a repulsor wave throwing Kincaid to the ground. Boltax was ready to celebrate when he noticed that the sun was completely down. Kincaid got up and said, "Time's up. Rules change." ------------------------------------------------------- Adam was still playing the Dragon flute trying to get the DragonZord to rise. For a while it didn't seem like he was making any progress at all. Then the glow on the Dragon Dagger grew brighter...and brighter...and brighter...and brighter... Until it enveloped him completely and by the time the glow subsided Adam had found his costume had changed. He still had the black color of the black ranger, but the white areas of the costume were now green. The same green of the DragonZord. He wore the old DragonShield of the Green Ranger and his helmet was also a mix of green and black. "Whoa cool", said Adam. He was almost ready to start playing again when he turned to see how Kincaid was doing against Boltax. He couldn't believe what he saw. ------------------------------------------------------- Kincaid raised his hands in the air as if ready to deliver a call. "Spirits of the night. Fill me with your power so I can vanquish this evil." Everyone, including the rangers, saw a form of magic enter Kincaid and Kincaid's ranger costume turned into a suit of red and black armor. Boltax saw the power and went to attack Kincaid, but Kincaid saw it coming. Kincaid raised his hands and Boltax felt himself being lifted in the sky. Boltax struggled to get free but he couldn't feel the grip of any power that had him. It was as if the night itself was lifting him up into the sky. Then Kincaid dropped his hand and Boltax felt himself crash down. And be lifted up again, and then crash down again...up and down...up and down...over and over...until there was nothing left but a bloody broken body that was barely alive. Kincaid then spoke to his ranger communicator and said, "Hardrive, scan for a nearby ship and teleport this guy to it." Hardrive complied and did not even give a TV quote as Boltax was teleported away. Kincaid then turned to see Adam staring at Kincaid unable to believe what he saw. "Nice suit.", said Kincaid. "Don't you have a Zord to get?" Adam said nothing and went back to playing the Dragon flute. The next moment the DragonZord arose under it's own power and Adam guided it towards Defiance. Adam got into the cockpit to guide the DragonZord into Defiance's cargo hold after Defiance transformed back into a space ship. Adam then powered down just as Kincaid walked in with his Red Ranger armor on. "Downtime", said Kincaid as he transformed back to human form. "Would you mind telling us how you did that?", Cassandra asked Kincaid. "Yes I mind, but I'll tell you anyway. The Night Rangers draw power from the night itself. It is considererd that the night is the time when magic is the most strongest than it is in the day. Night Rangers fill themselves with the power of the night and draw energy from it's spirits." "Isn't the nighttime also the time when evil is the most free?", asked Adam. "Unfortunately yes.", said Kincaid. "Which was why the Night Rangers existed. The spirits of the night could not stand the way evil has corrupted it, so it created the Night Rangers to drive it out into the light." "Which is why Rita, Zedd, MasterVile, Mondo, and Divatox only attacked during the day.", said Alpha. "They couldn't handle the power the Night Rangers possessed if they chose to attack them." "So what happened to them?", asked Justin. "Who?",asked Kincaid. "The other Night Rangers?" Kincaid paused for a moment and said "You don't want to know.", then he walked out of the hold leaving the other rangers in silence. ------------------------------------------------------- Kincaid stood on the bridge of Defiance helming the ship as Alpha, Justin, and Cassandra were looking over Adam. "Well Adam.", said Alpha. "It seems some leftover power in the old Dragon Dagger has merged with your old Dino morpher allowing you to control the DragonZord." "All right this is great.", said Justin as Cassandra hugged Adam. "Cassandra, I didn't know you cared.", said Adam coyly. Cassandra just chuckled at Adam's remark. "Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves.", said Alpha. "The power coin prototype is still the only thing keeping the morph stable, but it is starting to show signs of decay. The more you morph the faster the decay becomes. When that happens you will need another prototype before too long." "Alpha, it's okay.", said Adam. "Even if it's only for a little while it's good to be back." "Now there is only one thing to do.", said Cassandra. "What do we call you? We can't call you the black and green ranger forever." "I'll have to think about that.", said Adam. "But at least I won't be called the black and blue ranger." "Unless you seriously get clobbered.", said Justin. Then Cassandra and Adam both ganged up on the little blue ranger. Mackenzie stood in the corner watching the trio in their comaraderie. She felt envious of them. They seemed to have it so easy while she had lived a life of pain, misery and sorrow that they could only imagine. Then she turned to look at Kincaid, the tough mystery man. Like the others, she wondered what secrets he hid but there was something else. The look in his eyes. She had seen that look many times before in the mirror when she looked at herself. When Mackenzie's mom died she had a look of someone looking for an escape from the pain and grief that she felt. She wanted no pity which was why she became the smartmouth--so she could push people away. She also brushed with death when she had anorexia as well as several suicide attempts. There was a deep dark hole in Mackenzie's heart due to her mom's death. And when Mackenzie Dekalb looked into Jeffrey Kincaid's eyes, she too saw that very same hole in his heart. "What could have happened to make that hole so big?' thought Mackenzie. Jeffrey Kincaid was a man with secrets. But Mackenzie Dekalb had a feeling she already knew what some of them were.